NEW YORK – Game 2 without Kyrie Irving this
season, and the Cavaliers have not yet reached full-panic mode. The main
reason? They are confident with their veteran, backup point guard, Jarrett Jack.

Even though Jack's numbers haven't been as good as the Cavaliers
might have hoped for in his first season since signing with Cleveland as a free
agent – his shooting percentage is 41.4 compared to 45.2 last season with
Golden State – the Cavaliers like that the 30-year-old is there to direct the
offense when Irving is down.

Irving did not travel to Brooklyn as he continues to nurse a
left knee contusion, and he remains day-to-day.

"Jarrett just has a comfort level of telling guys what to
do, where to go, when to do it and he knows how to really spread it around,"
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "The biggest thing I thought Jarrett did in
our last game (against Orlando) is he was able to get us into our early flow
without the defense being set. That's something we're continuing to preach, no
matter who's in at point guard, whether it's Kyrie, Delly or Jack. We want to
look to attack first, if we can't attack we want to flow right into our offense
and move the defense. I thought Jarrett's vocal leadership, offensively
especially, in our last game was really good."

Jack had seven assists and seven rebounds in the Cavaliers'
87-81 overtime triumph over the Magic, though it's also true that he led the
Cavaliers to just .344 shooting in the contest.

Still, it's obvious Jack relished the opportunity to direct
the offense in a way he hasn't been often been able to do since arriving in
Cleveland and deferring more often to Irving.

Not having an All-Star point guard directing the offense can
be trying, of course. Just ask the Brooklyn Nets, who skidded through a 12-game
stretch without Deron Williams earlier this season. They lost nine of those 12
games without their starter.

"It's tough when your leaders are out," Nets coach Jason
Kidd said. "But when you look at for us with Shaun (Livingston), for Cleveland
with Jack, they have a veteran who can run the show. So the next guy steps up.
With Jack running the show, they're in pretty good hands."

Trade talks progressing, report says: The proposed trade of Andrew Bynum to the Los Angeles Lakers for Pau Gasol now is seeing progress after stalling, ESPN.com reported Saturday. According to the report, the Cavaliers hope to complete a trade involving Bynum on Sunday because trades need 48 hours to be finalized so that players can have physicals. If the Cavaliers deal Bynum by Tuesday, only $6 million of his contract is guaranteed.

Two Russians: The
Cavaliers game in Brooklyn provided rookie Sergey Karasev an opportunity to
visit with one of his idols in the game: Andrei Kirilenko.

Kirilenko first met Karasev when the 2013 No. 19 pick was 6
years old; Karasev's father, Vasily, played for the Russian national team with
Kirilenko.

"His dad was playing and he brought him to a practice, and I
was 18-19 at the time," Kirilenko said. "I was like chief of the little kids.
So I knew him all the way."

From the start, Kirilenko said, he saw an uncommon knowledge
of the game in the young Karasev. And when the two began playing together on
the Russian national team, Kirilenko said he was even more impressed.

"His biggest skill is, I think, his basketball IQ,"
Kirilenko said. "When I first see him playing in training camp with the
national team, I was surprised how he reads the game. You can shoot good, you
can be as athletic as you want, but if you don't see it, don't read the game,
you'll be an ordinary player. You can be skinny, you can be not athletic, but
if you can read the game? You can be very phenomenal player."

Karasev's development with the Cavaliers has been slow as he's
appeared in just 14 games, averaging 2.2 points.

His outside shooting accuracy has not shown in this early
part of his career, either, with just .321 shooting. But Kirilenko knows the
ability is there.

"He always been a great shooter," Kirilenko said. "But it's
not only shooting. He's great at making decisions – shooting the right time, go
drive, pass. He's unselfish passer. He needs to improve a little bit defensively,
get stronger a little bit in the position, hold his ground. But that's about
it. He's fast, he's agile. He's got everything. He's got all the tools. He's
still raw, but he can build on it.

"Right now, everything is trust from the coach, luck, staying
on the floor, and his workout. I wish him all the best. I want him to play."

Two better than one: Comic relief Saturday in Brooklyn came in the form of Tristan Thompson interviewing teammate Anderson Varejao for a TV spot about Varejao's 25-rebound performance against Orlando on Thursday.

"Do I ever get in your way?" Thompson asked Varejao.

"Sometimes," Varejao admitted. "But having two people there is better than one."

Cavaliers vs. Indiana Pacers

Time: 6 p.m. Sunday at The Q.

TV/radio: Fox Sports Ohio, WTAM AM/1100.

Notable: Cavaliers lost to the Pacers 91-76 on Dec. 31. ... Kyrie
Irving (left knee contusion) is questionable. ... Paul George leads Indiana with
23.5 points per game. ... The Pacers are 10-5 on the road.

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